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The Historical Archive of
Let's Go
liver Koppell came to college as a young man with a big idea: to create a travel guide for those who thought travel was beyond their reach. On the floor of his dorm room, Koppell crafted 25 pages of advertisements, brochures, and tips on touring Europe: the first Let's Go guide. For the next 61 years, the company Koppell founded constantly succeeded in realizing his dream of accessible budget travel —publishing 75 separate books, covering more than 90 different countries, and reaching millions of readers worldwide.
Most amazingly of all, "the granddaddy of budget guides" (in the words of The New York Times) was researched, written, edited, and produced entirely by students at Harvard University — most of whom were not even old enough to drink.
This is Let's Go's history, but it is their story.
1960s
Humble Origins
Let's Go began as a pamphlet put together by an enterprising Harvard sophmore named Oliver Koppell.
1970s
Let's Grow
The 1971 Let's Go: Europe was a banner edition, heralding the advent of the modern series.
1980s
The Expansion Era
To this point, Let's Go had published multiple travel books other than the flagship Europe guide, but they were all one off events.
1990s
World Domination
By the early 90s, Let's Go had a problem (admittedly, one many companies would love to have): it was too successful for a non-profit company like HSA.
2000s
Bumps in the Road
Even before September 11, Let's Go was facing challenges. Lonely Planet and other competitor series were eating into Let's Go sales as they expanded into European destinations.
2010s
Going, Going, Gone
Let's Go's contracts with Avalon and Travora expired after the 2013's series, and this time there was no new publisher waiting in the wings.